Welcome to COA-111
Online Journals Training
COA-111
Introduction
Welcome to the “COA-111 Online Journal Processing” course. This course has
been developed to provide you with the information you need to understand
the flow of an online journal from the preparer to the approver to the final
posting on the General Ledger.
We have also included a Check Your Knowledge at the end of the training.
Note: The material in this course as well as the Check Your Knowledge
sections can be reviewed online as many times as you’d like and at your own
pace until you feel you have a good understanding of the subject matter.
When you see a yellow callout instruction appear on a screen, follow the
instructions in that callout.
Click Add
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Course Objectives
 In this course we will cover the following:
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Overview of online journals
Creating an online journal
Approving an online journal
Other Journal Actions
Job Aids and Examples
Check Your Knowledge
COA-111
Prerequisite(s)
You should have a good understanding of UCSF’s Chart of
Accounts before you take the Online Journal Training. Make sure
you complete the following online classes in the UC Learning
Center:
 COA-101a – Understanding the New Chart of Accounts – Part a
 COA-101b – Understanding the New Chart of Accounts – Part b
 COA-101c – Understanding the New Chart of Accounts – Part c
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Overview
Online Journal Transactions
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Roles and Controls

Departments have two roles:
• Preparers who create the journal online. Every preparer has an approver.
• Approvers who are assigned to approve the journal online.
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Journal Preparers need to ensure they are using the correct Business
Unit, Account, Fund, Dept ID, Project, Activity Period, Function &
Flexfield. The system does extensive edits to ensure chartfield values
and combinations of chartfield values are valid.
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Journal Approvers should focus on content and policy when they
review a journal.
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Some journals are routed to Control Points and the Controller’s
Office for additional approval:
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•
•
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Equity transfer journals
Plant journals
Final year-end close journals
Cash and Credit Card (routed to Controller’s Office only)
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Source Codes

A Source Code is used to define the type and purpose of a journal. 535 is
the default Source Code for online journals. Users may change their
default to a different Source Code using UCSF User GL Defaults.
Source Code
Description
135
Budget Adjustment – may only be used with sponsored projects to allocate (central
units) or reallocate (departments) the project budget
320
Cash Receipt – used to record receipt of cash and checks from third parties (nonsponsored funds and projects
323
Credit Card Receipts – used to record credit card receipts from third parties
535
Financial Journal – used to record non-payroll adjustments to the General Ledger
or correction of chartfields for non-sponsored projects
53O
SFA Offset Journal – used by departments to record student tuition and fee offsets
545
Regular Cost Transfer – used to transfer expenses from a source chartstring to a
target chartstring where either the source or target is a sponsored project
547
Exception Cost Transfer – used to transfer exceptional payroll expenses, including
vacation accrual, or lump sum cost overruns (use Account 58351)
555
Recharge-Direct – used to record recharge debits/credits for approved Recharge
Units (with a Recharge Project ID)
575
UPlan Commitment – used by Budget Office only to record allocations made from
the core financial plan
Journal Flow
Step 1: Preparer
Step 2:
Approver
reviews the journal,
approves or denies the
journal, and submits it
for the next step
creates and edits a
journal, then submits it
for approval
Step 3:
Cash and
Approved
credit card journals
are routed to the
Controller’s Office
Approved
Note: Journals that are denied at any step
are returned to the Preparer’s worklist.
Posted to
General Ledger
and MyReports
Data Warehouse
in nightly
process
Approved
Approved and
no additional
routing
Posted to
General Ledger
and MyReports
Data Warehouse
in nightly
process
Step 3:
Equity,
transfer, plant, and
final year-end close
journals are routed to
the Control Point
Approved
Step 4:
Equity,
transfer, plant, and
final year-end close
journals are routed to
the Controller’s Office
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Creating an Online Journal
Online Journal Transactions
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PeopleSoft Navigation to Create an Online Journal
 General Ledger> Journals> Journal Entry > Create/Update Journal Entries
 Consider setting the navigation as a
favorite so that you can find it easily in
the future.
 Click the “-” in the Menu bar to toggle
the menu on/off (or use CTRL+Y).
 Users may change their UCSF User GL
Defaults to reference a different Source
code. For example, Cash Journal
Preparers could change Source to 320.
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Add a New Journal
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Click Add
 Accept the default values:
1. Business Unit defaults to your primary unit.
2. Journal ID defaults to the NEXT sequential number.
3. Journal Date defaults to the current date. If the journal date is not within an open period, a
warning message is displayed. Refer to the General Ledger Monthly Schedule to determine
month/end dates.
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Creating an Online Journal – Header
Click the Lines tab
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2
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4
Do NOT change. This is for
Controller’s Office only.
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1. Type in a Long Description to describe the purpose of the journal.
2. Accept the Ledger Group ACTUALS unless you are preparing a budget journal to reallocate the
budget for a sponsored project.
3. Accept the default Source code or select a different value.
4. Enter an optional 8-character Reference. For recharge journals (Source 555), you should enter the
Recharge Approval Number.
5. Only Control Points and/or Central units use SJE Type, Journal Class or the Reversal link.
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Creating an Online Journal – Lines
You may customize the line to hide columns
or display fields in a different order. In the
example, we hid the Open Item Key, which is
primarily used by Central Units.
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6
Click the + to
add a line
1. Type in or search for an optional SpeedType, the SpeedType will be expanded into the complete
chartstring (except for Account).
2. Type in or search for Account. Make sure you use a correct account value. Remember that
revenue accounts are in the 4xxxx range, expense accounts 5xxxx, and transfer accounts 7xxxx.
3. Type in or search for Fund, Dept ID, Project, Activity Period (sponsored projects), Function, and
Flexfield (optional).
4. Type in the Amount. Use a positive amount for debits and a minus sign for credits.
5. Type in an optional Reference. If this journal line is correcting another journal, enter the original
Journal ID in Reference.
6. Type in an optional Journal Line Description to record specific details about the line.
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Creating an Online Journal – Lines
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2
Click OK
1. When you add a line or save, the system edits chartfield values in the previous line. If a chartfield
is invalid, an error message is displayed, and the invalid value is highlighted.
.
2. Click OK to acknowledge the message.
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Creating an Online Journal – Lines
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2
Click the +
to add lines
1. Type in or search for a correct chartfield. In the example, we typed in the correct Fund value of
5000.
•
If you do not know the correct chartfield value for a line, delete the line until you can
research it.
•
Then, go to the Header page and Save Journal As Incomplete.
2. You can change the Lines to add to insert more than one line.
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Creating an Online Journal – Lines
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Click the calculator to
re-calculate Total
Debits and Credits
1. When you add more than one line, Business Unit, Account, Fund, Dept ID, Project, Activity
Period, Function, and Flexfield are copied to the new lines. Amount and Reference are blank.
Journal Line Description defaults to the Account description.
2. Update the chartfields, amount, reference and description for each line.
3. To delete line(s), select them, and click the “-” button.
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Creating an Online Journal – Lines
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Click Save.
1. Verify Total Debits equal Total Credits. Only balanced journals can be submitted for approval and
posted to the general ledger.
2. When you save a journal, a confirmation message provides the Journal ID.
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Creating an Online Journal – Lines
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1
Click the
Attachments tab
1. Note the Journal ID is now displayed.
2. Now we are going to add an attachment that shows the detail for the expenses we are moving.
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Creating an Online Journal – Attachments
Click the
Paperclip
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2
1. Enter an optional Description and a Line Number if the attachment only applies to a specific line
in the journal.
2. Click the Paperclip icon to browse for the PDF file. You may add PDF, Excel, or Word documents
to journals. The attachment size limit is 50 mb.
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Creating an Online Journal – Attachments
1. Browse for the PDF file and Upload it.
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3
Click the
Lines tab
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2. Use the buttons at the end of each attachment to delete, view, or add more attachments.
3. Go to the Lines tab to edit the journal and submit it for approval.
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Creating an Online Journal – Edit Journal
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3
Click the Process
button
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1. The Edit Process ensures that all chartfields and chartfield combinations are valid, the journal
date is in a period that is open, and debits equal credits.
2. The Journal Status must be N, E, or T to run the edit.
Status
E
N
P
T
V
Meaning
Errors that must be corrected
Not Edited
Posted to General Ledger
Incomplete as indicated on Header
Valid edited journal that can be submitted
for approval
3. During the Edit Process, you need to acknowledge messages reminding you to attach appropriate
documents and that the journal is saved.
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Creating an Online Journal – Edit Journal
Click the
Errors tab
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2
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1. If there are any errors in the journal, Journal Status is changed to E (errors).
2. Lines in error are marked with an X.
3. If you have a large journal and only want to view lines with errors, check the Errors only box.
4. To view the error message, click the X beside the line in error or go to the Errors tab.
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3
Creating an Online Journal – Errors
Click the
Lines tab
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2
1. The Header errors summarizes errors in the journal. For example:
• Journal line errors exist.
• Journal is not balanced.
• Journal Date is not an open period.
2. Line errors show the Line Number in error and a description of the error.
3. After reviewing error messages, go back to the Lines tab and correct the errors.
COA-111
Creating an Online Journal – Edit Journal
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2
1. If you had errors and have corrected them, you will need to process the Edit Journal again.
2. If the journal did not have any errors, the Journal Status and Budget Status are changed to V
(valid).
• When the journal status is valid, you can submit the journal for approval.
• Only the original preparer can initiate the approval process.
Go to the Next Slide
COA-111
Creating an Online Journal – Submit for Approval
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Click the Process
button
1. To submit the journal for approval, click the down arrow for Process and select the Submit
Journal task.
2. Then click the Process button.
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Creating an Online Journal – Submit for Approval
3
Click the UCSF
Approval tab
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1
1. The system indicates it has submitted and saved the journal by flashing Saved and….
2. …..changing Process back to Edit Journal.
3. Go to the UCSF Approval tab to verify approval status.
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Creating an Online Journal – UCSF Approval
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2
1. When you perform the Submit Journal Process, Approval Status is set to Pending Approval.
2. Approval History shows all of the steps in the approval process, status, date/time, and who the
journal was approved by. For journals that are routed to Control Points and/or the Controller’s
Office, you will see all approvers listed.
Go to the Next Slide
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Approving an Online Journal
Online Journal Transactions
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How Journal Approval Works
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Every Journal Preparer has a designated Journal Approver.
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Only one individual can be assigned as the Journal Approver for that Preparer.
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Individuals can be Journal Approvers as well as a Journal Preparers but cannot
approve their own journals.
Approvers are identified at the start of the approval cycle.
• All approvers (department, control point, controller’s office) must approve
journals before month-end close, or the journals will not be posted.
• An email notification may be used to send journals to additional people for
review in situations such as cross-departmental journals.
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Approvers cannot:
• Delete a journal
• Change the content of a journal
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Approvers can assign a substitute approver if they are out of the office for
an extended time.
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Worklists
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3
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1
Click the
journal link.
2
1. Users should check their Worklist on a regular basis. Worklists contain:
• Journals to be approved if the user is a journal approver
• Journals that were denied if the user is a journal preparer
• Other items needing approval (e.g., requisitions) if the user has the role
• Notifications sent by other PeopleSoft users.
2. The Mark Worked button is only available for notifications, and the Reassign button is inactive
except for Control Point Approvers.
3. You may use Work List Filters, Priority settings, and column sorting to manage the worklist. You
can sort on any column except Link by clicking on the column heading.
4. Click the journal link to review the journal. The Lines tab is displayed.
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Click the
Header tab
Approving a Journal – Lines
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2
Review the lines for the following:
1. The correct Account and Fund are used for the transaction, and Account is for non-payroll
adjustments. (Note: A Payroll Expense Transfer (PET) form is used to transfer payroll expense.)
2. Equity transfers should always have the same 78xxx Account on both sides (debit and credit) and
should net to zero.
3. For recharges or costed central activities, revenue Accounts 74200 (recharges) or 74250 (costed)
should only be used with SFCMP and a campus Dept ID. The expense may be either SFCMP or
SFMED with a corresponding campus or medical center Dept ID.
4. If Business Unit is SFMED, it must be an medical center Dept ID. If Business Unit is SFCMP, it must
be a campus Dept ID.
5. Review Reference and Journal Line Description to determine if they are helpful.
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Approving a Journal – Header
Click the UCSF
Attachments tab
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2
Review the header for the following.
1. Verify the Journal Date. If the date is not correct, you should deny the journal. The Preparer will
need to copy the journal to a correct date.
2. Ensure the Long Description adequately describes the purpose of the journal.
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Approving a Journal – UCSF Attachments
Click the UCSF
Approval tab
2
1
Review attachments.
1. Click the View icon for the attachment. The attachment is opened in a separate window.
2. Ensure the attachment provides adequate support to help someone who is not from the
department understand why the journal was created. Note: only the original preparer can add or
delete file attachments.
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Approving a Journal – UCSF Approval
3
Click the
Lines tab
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2
The default Approval Action is Approve. Therefore, if you are ready to approve the journal, you do
not need to come to this page, and can go directly to the Lines page.
1. To deny a journal, change the Approval Action to Deny. If a journal is denied, it is routed to the
Preparer’s worklist.
2. Provide an explanation in Comments for Denial Email. Provide enough information that the
Preparer can made changes to the journal.
3. Go to the Lines tab, to perform the Submit Journal process and record your approval or denial
action.
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Approving a Journal – Submit Journal
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2
Click the
Process button
1. Change the Process to Submit Journal.
2. Click the Process button. When the process is performed:
• The journal is edited to again. If there are any errors because of chartfield changes or the
accounting period is no longer open, the approval cycle is canceled, and the journal is routed
to the preparer’s worklist.
• If the journal is denied, it is routed to the preparer’s worklist. The Preparer also receives an
email notification.
• If the journal is approved, it is forwarded to the next approver if there is one, or it is marked
as ready to post.
• The journal is removed from the Approver’s worklist.
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Approving a Journal – UCSF Approval
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2
Click View
Worklist
3
1. On the UCSF Approval tab, the Approval Status has been changed to Approved to Post.
Approval Status
Description
Pending Approval
Journal has not been approved by all approvers.
Denied
Approved to Post
An approver has denied a journal
All approvers have approved the journal, which will post in the next nightly posting.
2. The Status for the Approver is Approved.
3. Click View Worklist, Next in Worklist, or Previous in Worklist to move through your worklist.
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Worklists
In the example, all items have been removed from the worklist.
Go to the Next Slide
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Time-out Rules
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Preparers must complete, edit, and submit a journal before the period it
was assigned to closes.
•
•

If the period is closed, the Edit and Post process will return an error message
and leave the Journal Status as N (not edited).
The preparer must copy the journal to an open period and perform the Edit
Journal and Submit Journal processes.
Approvers must approve a journal before the period it was assigned to
closes, or it cannot be posted.
• Journals requiring Controller’s Office approval must be submitted by the close
of business on the 2nd working day after month-end.

At month-end, the system automatically:
• Cancels the current approval cycle and removes journals that are not
approved from the Approver’s worklist.
• Sets Journal Status to N (not edited) and routes the journal to the Preparer
with a Work Item category of Journal Time Out.
• Notifies Preparers and completed Approvers via email.
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Approval Process Q&A

How often should an approver approve?
•
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Approvers should check their worklist regularly, especially towards the end of
the month. If there are other approvers (Control Point or Controller’s Office),
they need to allow time for them to approve journals before month-end close.
What if the journal is not approved by the time the ledger closes for the
month?
• Any journal that did not go through its entire approval process will not get
posted. The Preparer will see the journal appear on his/her worklist, which
means Preparer must check their worklist just after the month-end close.

What should a Preparer do with a journal that did not post?
• The Preparer can copy the journal to a date in the current period. Then the
Preparer should delete the original journal that did not post.
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What if an Approver approved a journal but meant to deny it?
• If the journal has posted, the Preparer will need to create a journal that
reverses the incorrect lines and adds the correct lines.
• If the journal has not posted, the Preparer can still make the changes, edit the
journal, and re-submit it to the approver.
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Approval Process Q&A

What do I do if I go on vacation, and I’m an Approver?
1. If you will be gone for a short time and it is not during month-end close, let
the journals accumulate in your worklist and review them when you get back.
2. If you will be gone during month-end, require your Preparers to finish their
journals early enough for you to approve them before you go.
3. Assign a substitute approver for the time period you will be gone.
• It has to be someone who has a role in the journals process. It can be
someone who is normally only a preparer.
• It must be someone who is qualified to approve a journal.
• A person cannot approve journals they prepare. Therefore, they cannot
prepare journals while they are an approver.
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Assigning an Alternate Approver
1. To assign an alternate approver,
navigate to My System Profile.
2. Enter the User ID of the substitute
approver and the beginning and
ending dates for the time period.
2
1
3. Save the changes.
3
Click Save
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Other Journal Actions
Online Journal Transactions
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Other Journal Actions – Finding a Journal
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To search for a journal that you or another preparer created, go to the Find an Existing Value tab.
1. Change the operator drop-down list to select based on beginning characters, date or value
ranges, and other parameters.
2. To look for a specific journal, enter the Journal ID.
3. To look for journals that are incomplete, in error, unedited, valid (edited), or posted, select the
Journal Header Status.
4. To look for journals that are Approved, Denied, or Pending Approval, select the Approval Status.
5. To a specific type of journal, enter or search for the appropriate Source Code.
6. To look for a journal created by a specific preparer, enter the Original Preparer User ID.
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Other Journal Actions – Finding a Journal
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2
1. If your Search Criteria generates a list of journals, use the navigation buttons (Return to Search,
Previous in List, Next in List) to move through the list.
2. If you would like to send an email to another user, click the Notify button.
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Other Journal Actions – Copying, Deleting, Printing
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1. To copy a journal to another Journal ID, select Copy Journal. This function is useful if you need to
reverse a journal added in error or copy to a new accounting period if the journal wasn’t
approved and posted before the month-end close.
 Enter a Journal ID or accept the next sequential number.
 Enter a Journal Date.
 If you are reversing a journal, click the checkbox for Reverse Signs.
2. To delete a journal, select Delete Journal. Journals that have been posted cannot be deleted.
3. To print a journal, select Print Journal. A Print Process window is displayed while the PDF is being
created. Be sure you add PeopleSoft to allowed sites in your Pop Up Blocker Settings under the
browser Tools menu.
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Job Aids and Examples
Online Journal Transactions
COA-111
Preparing a Journal - Job Aids and Examples
The Controller’s Office website includes job aids and examples for
other types of journals on the Training & Job Aids page as follows:
 Accounting & Reporting
 Financial (535) and Recharge (555) Journals
 Automated Recharge (556) Journal Process
 Cash Handling and Deposits
 Cash (320) and Credit Card (323) Journals
 Contracts and Grants Accounting
 Budget Adjustment (135) Journals
 Regular (545) and Exception (547) Cost Transfer Journals
 Gifts and Endowments
 Transferring Gift & Endowment Income Funds Using Financial (535) Journals
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Other Useful Job Aids
 Accounting & Reporting
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Approving a Journal
Combo Edit Rules Quick Reference
Doing Business with Med Center: Revenue and Expense Accounts
Journal IDs
Journal Source Codes
Moving Money Quick Ref
Cash (320) and Credit Card (323) Journals
 Calendars & Schedules
 GL Monthly Schedule
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Check Your Knowledge
 A Preparer may perform an Edit Journal process if Journal Status is (select
as many as apply):
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


N – Not edited
V – Valid
E – Errors
T – Incomplete
P – Posted
 Total debits must equal total credits before you can submit a journal for
approval.
 True
 False
 The Edit Process ensures the following (select as many as apply):





Chartfields are valid.
Chartfield combinations are valid.
All amounts are positive.
The journal date is in an open period.
Debits equal credits.
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Check Your Knowledge
 Any preparer in a department can perform the Submit Journal Process
for their department’s journals.
 True
 False (Preparers can only submit their own journals for approval, never those created
by another preparer.)
 Journal Status is set to V (Valid) if the Edit Journal Process is successful.
 True
 False
 Journals are submitted to the Approver’s worklist for approval.
 True
 False
 A Department Approver should deny a financial journal if it was used to
transfer payroll costs.
 True (A Payroll Expense Transfer (PET) form is used to transfer payroll expense.)
 False
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Check Your Knowledge
 Denied journals are routed to the Preparer’s worklist.
 True
 False
 Which of the following is FALSE?
 Copy Journal copies the current journal to a new journal, and there is an option to
reverse signs.
 Delete Journal deletes the current journal including posted journals.
 Print Journal creates the Journal Entry Detail Report in a PDF format.
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Conclusion
 In this course, we covered the following:






Overview of Online Journal Processing
Creating an Online Journal
Approving an Online Journal
Other Journal Actions: Finding, Copying, Printing, and Deleting
Job aids on the Controller’s Office website
Check Your Knowledge
 For assistance with Online Journals, contact the UCSF IT Help
Desk at 415.514.4100.
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